Continuing the search for alien life

By

Karin Valentine

—

November 28, 2016

ASU astronomer Evgenya Shkolnik, of the School of Earth and Space Exploration, is leading an effort to use the Hubble Space Telescope to observe small, cool M Dwarf stars to understand effects that could hide life on their planets or give a signal that looks like life, but isn’t.

A recent article in New Scientist, featuring Shkolnik and other astronomers, highlights the latest efforts to search for habitable worlds using the Hubble Space Telescope and to set the stage for the James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in 2018.

Hubble’s upcoming itinerary will also include Proxima b, our closest (and possibly habitable) exoplanet. Proxima b is the subject of an upcoming Dean of Science Public Lecture hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — which will feature Shkolnik as one of the panelists — on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. on the Tempe campus. Find more information on ASU Events.